Ladder



A. A. SORG.

LADDER.

M me/1110M FILED AUG-30, 1919.

1,377,977. latented May 10,1921.

. UNITED srarssfearsm oFFicaf" J ALBERT A. sons, or enannimrrns,.MroHIGAN.

LADDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

appl'ication filed August so, 1919. Serial Nit-320,962. V

and sold byme, and its objects are: first to provide a means whereby theextensionmay be made to, at all times, move directly upwardly ordownwardly when extending 'or withdrawing the extended section thereof;second, to provide aimea'ns whereby'the extendedsection of the ladderwil-l be, automatically, locked into positionwhen properly adjusted;third, to provide a means whereby the link braces will 'be held fromlateral movement when the ladder is'ad"- jus'ted for use, and, fourth,to provide a means whereby the ladder may be folded into compact formfor storing &c.

I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing,.

in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the ladder folded for storing,conveylng, &c. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the ladder with the partsextended in position for use. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the ladder.Fig. 4:

is a front elevation, and Fig. 5 is a side elevation of thegoverningslide as it is applied to the extensible section of the ladder. Fig. 6is a top plan of the same with its several connecting elements inposition thereon. Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 are edge views of the actuatinglinks that support the extended lower sections of the ladder. Figs. 9and 10 are plans of the same.

In the construction of this ladder the ladder standards or sections 1and the extension section 2 are old in my ladder hereinbefore mentioned.The new elements in this ladder consist, first, of the slide member 3which is made of steel or other I suitable sheet metal and has a crosspiece 7 that is pivotally connected with the stiles 1 of the lowersections of theladder, as at d, sothat said lower sections may be foldedclosely to the extension standard 2, as in Fig. 1', or may be extendedor swung outwardly therefrom,

min Fig. 2 to form a firm su ortin base for the ladder. pp g 4 and 4that are pivot'ally connected to? vgether at c, arepivotally'connectedwith the stiles 1 as at b, and are adaptedtofbe moved"Patented May 10,1921}.

This slide has two links l upwardly or downwardl'yat their'con nected Iends by. means of the "bolt v12 acting in the slot 5,.in the slide 3.The slide 3, at oneside of the slot 5, is offset to form aselcond plane.with 'suificient. distancebetween the offset 3 and the normalouter'surface of the slide so the end ofthe linkl' may pass {freely betweenthem so as to avert anypossible danger;of lateral movement of theconnected ends of thelinks. I The linklhasjthe movable end curved aroundand extendedTback wardly, as at g,fori'theipurpose offforniing thelinks. These -'featur'es constitute the convenlent handle with whichtoqperate the stiles 1. The slides are, also provided v The lockingelement in this construction "withbackwardly"extending wingsfthat areadapted to extend backwardly overtheedges of the st1le's-2'to form"readil'ypadjustable H slideways and guidew aysfforasaid' stiles;

consists of a diagonal wing formed integral with one edge of the slidesand having a slot, Y

6, therein that inclines outwardly and upwardly from the edge of thestile 2. There being a slide on each side of the ladder, andcorresponding slots in said slides, I-place a bolt or rod .8 across theladder-with one end supported in each of said slots. The slots 6 are soformed that when the rod 8 is carried upwardly in the slots the stiles 2may be moved freely either upwardly or downwardly without contactingwith the rod, but

the lower end of the slots will carry the rod back of the surfaces ofthestiles, and the} stiles are provided with indentures ainto which the rodmay drop so that the action 1 l i of the rod in said indentures andpressing the stile against the bearings f of the slide raise theextensible section of the ladder it v is simply necessary to take holdof a rung 11 and lift it upwardly and the rod 8 will be displaced fromthe indenture' and the section may be raised to the desired height andanchored in place by dropping it downwardly in position so the rod willrest'in corresponding indentures. If, desiring'to will lock the stilesfirmly in any given position they may be placed. If it is desired to theindentures. The rod must then be held.

in place and the section lowered into the desired position, when the rodis to be allowed to locate itself in the indentures, when the sectionwill be firmly locked in place. The steps 9 and lOvmay be secured to thestiles 1 by any available means.

It will be readily'understood that with this construction, or its nearequivalent, the vertical movement of the adjustable section of theladder must be directly upwardly or directly downwardly, and it cannot,by any possibility, be made to incline in either direction from theperpendicular when the base sections, 1, are properly placed, and thesecure manner in which the brackets are securedto the steps andto thestiles renders it impossible for the ladders to become slimsy sidewise,thus rendering the ladder absolutely rigid and firm in every direction.

I find it advisable to place metal reinforcing pins, 'or protectingelements, as 70, at the upper'edges of the indentures ato avert thedanger of so wearing the. stiles at these points as to render themunsafe when heavy loads are to be supported upon the extension 7'sections'of the ladder.

What I claim as new in the art, is: 1. In combination with a step ladderhaving a vertically adjustable centersection,

lower sections supporting the center section;

V a ,slide pivotally mounted upon the upper ends of the lower sections,links pivotally connected with the lower sections, pivotally callydisposed slot centrally located, and an I outwardly inclined diagonalslot near one side, the metal at one side of the vertical slot offset toform a lateral slot between the surface of the slide and the surface ofthe offset metal, a link pivotally Connected at one end with one of thebase stiles,

the other end passed through the lateral slot and pivotally connectedwith another link,

the other end of the last named linkpivotally connected with the stileof the other base section, a bolt passed through theends of the twolinks and through the vertical slot in the-slide, the central'section ofthe ladder having indentures in the edges of the stiles, a rod mountedin the inclined slots in the slides to engage the indentures in thestiles and lock the central section of the ladder in desired positions;

Signed at Grand Rapids, Michigan, August 25, 1919. V ALBERT A. SORG.

